Build a cluster ristar

[Colt Ward]

3060s

The shock of the Jaguars being destroyed by the Inner Sphere is still shaking Clan society.  With the departure of the Bears and the exile of the Nova Cats, those Clans remaining in the Homeworlds are engaged in a large series of Trials to take the recently available territory and resources.  You are a ristar who won the rank of Star Captain in command of a supernova trinary before winning a hallowed Bloodname.  You have just returned from the field after successfully winning a Trial of Possession that is critical to your Clan's movement to the future.

You saKhan has summoned you to a meeting at your Clan's capital.

He has brought you to discuss the formation of a new cluster.  The saKhan, Khan and Loremaster have been discussing the debut of Protomechs and proliferation of new battle armor types as well as some Clan's efforts to revisit combat vehicles.  You have been tasked with raising a new cluster which will provisionally be part of the Khan's Galaxy so it may be tested in the Possession wars.  The saKhan has said you may select two points from your previous trinary if they accept though they will transfer without their mechs (pilots & BA will transfer with their equipment if you choose that type).  You will have your own mech transferred to the new cluster.  The saKhan hands over a tablet with a listing of equipment from training sibkos you can requisition, what old Star League or Golden Age equipment sits forgotten in caches, and the very limited Omnis & standard Clan Battlemechs you can pull from their production lines.  If the case could be made, you might be able to get a specific mech in trade from a allied Clan or purchased from the Diamond Sharks.  Also on the tablet is a list of green sibko graduates, old warriors still trying to hang on to frontline slots but due to be shuffled off to garrison or even solhama, warriors requesting a transfer or warriors whose Star Colonels wish to be rid of them.

You mission is to come up with a flexible cluster without relying on OmniMechs that while it will hold to Clan rituals it can be more than the sum of its part- you get the impression that the Khan and saKhan are wanting you to hand them a elite Cluster in a effort to copy what Natasha Kerensky did in making the 13th Wolf Guards, but cheaper.  Its a test of your tactical and strategic planning and opens the pathway to advancement & rank in the touman- perhaps a first step to one day becoming a Khan yourself.  Right now plans call for at least two trinaries of mechs (though you can organize them as 3 binaries if desired), some battle armor, some vehicles and some air support- anything else will depend on your decision. 

The saKhan is generously allowing you six months to pull all the pieces together and drill the troops before your new cluster will be committed to combat, quiaff?

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OOC-  Just a bit of a though experiment after I have been combing the MUL to flesh out the opposition for a Operation Bulldog campaign.  The Clans have so many interesting and capable designs now that they have had backfill of Golden Century and Star League Royals as well as the new BA, tanks and Protos that came about in the 3060s.  Or in armor's case, backfill again with things like the Axel IIC.

To make the thought experiment a bit unique, the amount of current production OmniMechs should be limited to no more than two stars to include the CO's and all must be produced by 'your' Clan.  Non-Omnis can be from other Clans, but newer 3060s builds like Arcas, Ha Otoko, or Marauder IIC 3 should be limited.  Same with BA, armor and ASF though as mentioned before if a case could be made for trade or buying from Diamond Sharks some latitude could be found.  I would expect something like this to be under-strength, even though they are scraping the resources up all those Trial of Possessions are still occurring which is why the commander is being given cast off equipment & warriors with a sprinkling of new to stiffen.

Bonus for getting some unit skills as part of their training- night movement, offmap movement b/c pathfinder, orbital drop assaults, or things like the new SPAs.  Give it some variety & flavor!

[worktroll]

I've actually got something not quite right for this - it's a Jade Falcon cluster I'm building in miniatures, but it's reliant on Early Republic equipment for many parts. I'll have a play at working it around, but fundamentally:

1st Trinary:
- Assault Omni Star, BA star, Aero Star

2nd Trinary:
- Heavy 2nd Line Star, Heavy Vehicle star (with artillery), VTOL Sweep Star

3rd Trinary:
- Heavy BA Star, Medium BA Star, Vehicle Star (carrying the BA Stars)

1st Trinary is the most "classic", while the 2nd Trinary is designed to be flexible, and to deal with dishonorable opponents more easily. 3rd Trinary is from some points of view "making up the numbers", but having 50 BA suits deployable at over 100km/hr, without drawing down your omnis, can be useful.

(For fun, the Omni star would currently be  Turkina X, Warhawk Prime, Timber Wolf E, Dire Wolf U, and Timber Wolf U. The BA 'riders' are three Salamander points, and two Undine points. Yup, mechanised swimmers ;) But would need some re-work for the period in question)

W.

[Colt Ward]

Yeah, I got to looking at the MUL list and seeing everything listed which made me think you could build a tough cluster without having TOO much top Clan gear that would be 'good enough' to do most things for the Clan without a rebuild of a Keshik or Frontline uber cluster.

For instance a Coyote nova of UrbanMech IICs, Hoplite 4Cb, other slow moving mechs and slow protos like Minotaurs that are designed to be fire support/protection for the other half of the binary, some Canis and other slow 3/5 assaults that have big long range guns. 
Main Star-
Blood Kite, Canis, Emperor 6A, Thunderhawk 7X, Supernova
Support Star-
UrbanMech IIC, UrbanMech IIC, Hoplite 4Cb, Wyvern IIC, Hunchback IIC & Minotaur, Gorgon 2 x4.

It would be a fun hammer without being the 'I am dropping 3 Dire Wolves and 2 Turkinas' for a assault star- which would have been rare among the Jaguars.

[worktroll]

I just used those assaults & heavies because those are the minis I have ;)

[Colt Ward]

Lol, I know your system- I have seen the pictures!  I often do the same thing when its a pick up game, what mini haven't I used that I want to to build a theme . . . other times its about trying things out.  I was just curious what people could put together without reaching for '1st Trinary- 15 Timberwolves' or Stormcrows, etc.

[truetanker]

Oh the fun I have for you... it's really a throw back Cluster!

I give you Pi Cluster, a slice of Clan Jade Wolf!

Command Nova has the only omnis in the unit: Paired Dire Wolf's, Widowmaker LRM and Lone Wolf, a Highlander IIC, a Shogun C and a Urbanmech IIC. A Star of Infantry, 2 Fast Recon ( Hover ) 1 Mech. Hover SRM ( Hover ), 1 Micro Pulse ( BA ) and 1 Headhunter ( BA ).

Binary Alpha: Paired Emerald Hunters ( Roadrunner RD-1R ), Icestorm, Piranha 2, Jenner IIC 2, paired Clint IICs, paired Wyvern IICs and a single Matador!

Binary Beta: Triple Warhammers, twin IIC 2s and a -7A with paired Marauders, one a IIC and the other a -3R(C), a pair of Glass Spiders, one Standard and the other a 2, adding the rest in Hunchback IICs.

Trinary mixed Tank Alpha: Points of Mithras, Athena, Demolisher C, and Ares.

Trinary mixed Tank Beta: Points of Zorya, Hachiman, Ishtar and Ku.

Rouge Artilery Nova: Pike point, Thor C point, 2 Huey point, Mars Point and Donar VTOL point with a Star of Clan Mechanized Tracked LRM.

Aero mixed Binary: 2 Point of Swift C, 2 Points of Tomahawk C, 2 Points of Xerxes, Point of Jengiz C, the rest in Hydaspes.

I hope this inspires you.

Was fun to make.

TT